The Cradle of Cricket

We journeyed today to Hambledon, widely regarded as the Cradle of Cricket. It's cricket club, whose home ground is called Broadhalfpenny Down, was formed in 1750 and was the first headquarters of English cricket (the MCC at Lords was formed in 1787).

Across the road from the grounds is the Bat & Ball Inn, which straddles the parishes of Hambledon and Clanfield,. The parishes previously had different liquor licencing hours, so at 10pm when one parish had to stop serving alcohol, customers moved across the dividing brass strip on the floor, to continue drinking for another hour.

We had a walk around the village, then lunch at the Bat & Ball. Our afternoon activities were cut short when the rain came down heavier, so we adjourned back to Soberton and had coffee and cake at the pub.

We took a late afternoon walk in the drizzling rain along a section of the Meon Valley Trail, a walking and bike track along the route of the former Meon Valley Railway, which runs behind Soberton.Read more